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Is an original Minelab sovereign worth buying, I can get one pretty cheap but needs repair, the repair it needs I can do for minimal cost. What price do you think is a fair price for one?

Fancy an Equinox 800 for $200 USD? Look no further, you can now buy a proper Chinese version! https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/FOR-ORIGINAL-Minelab-EQUINOX-800-Multi_62008021393.html?spm=a2700.7724857.normalList.1.16ae2ca3PKFzyf It looks like they've now made Fake Gold Monsters too, Mine Lab ones ?, it really never ends does it, now people even have to be careful buying a trusty GM1000 ? https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Free-delivery-Mine-lab-Monster-1000_62008484260.html?spm=a2700.7724838.2017115.65.65a64b7bZJj1LY https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Free-delivery-Mine-lab-Monster-1000_62005126905.html?spm=a2700.details.maylikehoz.5.24731acb4KLyVb And the Mine Lab SDC ? I guess Mine lab is safe to use but Minelab isn't. https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/New-Sales-Offer-For-SDC-2300_62004764388.html?spm=a2700.details.maylikehoz.5.387b3d13u1Bcdv And to top it off they sell a detector more expensive than the GPZ! The high performance Titan Ger 1000! $14,500 USD!!! https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Titan-Ger-1000-underground-gold-metal_50039522139.html?spm=a2700.7724838.2017115.116.65a64b7bZJj1LY I think the lesson to be learnt from this is to buy from Authorized Dealers, and if buying second hand, try verify it's authenticity with original receipts or any way you can. ?

hello! my first post...been researching for a new detector and quite honestly, getting frustrated. There is a rumored cache in my area which could be a large deeply buried target. Would be great to get to a depth of 2-3 meters. However, I would also use the detector for gold and meteorites. The main target is in highly mineralized soil and rock. Essentially, looking at a contact of rock outcrop and volcanic cinders. Not level at all! Looking into the 2-box, could go deep enough but read that they don't really work for this topographic challenge? Looking at Garrett atx with 20 inch coil, can't really find out how deep that will go? but seams to meet all other needs. Also looking at garrett 2500 because it has the optional 2 box with a standard detector, but can't really understand the depth abilities on it either, and worried it really isn't that good otherwise. The ATX would be a financial reach for me, so I think minlabs are out of the question. Gee, I guess I want it all! Thanks in advance for your thoughts!!!!

So I am mainly a prospector and on vacations or when staying with my folks in FL a beach detectorist. I have gone out a few times to my local parks but I really get nervous digging plugs all over the place when most of the time it is pull tab garbage. The last couple times instead of using a Lesche shovel, I used a hand Lesche which made it a little less conspicuous but still pulling plugs. I thought that maybe I would reduce sensitivity and go after surface finds, or maybe pinpoint as best as possible and just try to cut a slit and probe. I am just apprehensive about digging in parks or soccer/football/baseball fields and would like to know techniques or strategies that folks use to make the least impact but go for the best finds. Then maybe I can get out more after work instead of waiting for the weekends or vacations to go in the woods or on the beach where I can dig to my hearts content. I just don't like people coming around harassing me especially if I am pulling a plug in there precious park or manicured sports field. If you have techniques that work with the Equinox specifically, I would be interested in that too (or references or videos), which is why I posted this in the Nox forum.

Hello Steve, I am George from Greece again. I will tell you what I dislike about minelab safari. The discrimination is not good and confusing, so you have to dig everything because you don’t know if you hit a pull tub or a small golden ring. Also, when I set discrimination there is a lot of iron masking. I have to do noise cancel every 20-30 minutes in order to work correctly. The depth measurer is very medium. It has terrible recovery speed. Has no ground mineralization indicator. In other words it is a tiring detector and you have to spend a lot of time to learn the nonferrous audios in order to understand approximately what you have hit. What I like is the silver coin sound and with a lot of trying copper sound. But yesterday I was on beach handing, and I found several bob fishing with the same numbers and the sound of silver. Know, I am interested about silver, copper, gold coins, jewelry and relics and I am interested about deep targets. I do handing on the fields, mountains, parks and beach. I do not search for gold nuggets because we do not have in Greece (except Thrace region). I want your suggestion about 3 detectors (so I can choose) with the following specifications: - Very good and precise discrimination. - Very fast recovery speed. - Extremely depth. - Ground mineralization indicator. - Tracking ground balance. - Tone adjustment. - Sensitivity adjustment. - Soil adjustment. - Simple but effective. - Not too much expensive. (I was impressed by the Nokta/Makro metal detectors, although here in Greece there is a prejudice about Turkish products that they are not good in general) Do you think there is such a detector, or is it marketing tricks in order to shell new metal detectors every year? If I bought a new detector (because technology evolving) with the above specifications I will have better results? Thank you in advance for your answers. P.S.: I read your articles and reviews very often and my knowledge about metal detectors has change. You have done very good work. Just continue.

If memory serve me correctly as a 17 year old I found myself swinging a Garrett A2B in one arm, the other arm holding a pick over my shoulder. No hat, no water, not GPS, just enthusiasm. Those days are long gone, getting back into electronic prospecting I found myself using a sling bag, it held water, gps, phone and a 5w handheld radio. A small pick hung off it and until I got myself a larger pick it was adequate. Problem was that I always had a reason to return to the car for something, which ate away at my swing time. I needed to equip myself so that I could operate for hours without needing to return to the vehicle. The addition of a decent size pick forced me to adopt a rig that allowed a large degree of independence. A molle battle belt and suspenders combined with a heavy duty leather belt formed the basis of my prospecting rig. A leather holster for the large pick, first aid kit, two way radio, GPS, phone, water bladder and water bottle, etc. I can simply add or detract as circumstances dictate. In remote areas I have a Personal Locator Beacon and additional safety gear, at other times an Ipad and phone replace the PLB. Snake first aid kit at all times, one in the car and one as part of the permanent first aid kit on the rig. I always leave trip information and details with family before going out, keep my first aid training up to date and maintain my gear, with particular care for keeping the car up to spec at all times.. I can now go out detecting without needing to return to the vehicle for a whole day. No more time wasting going back and forth, more swing time results.. safety and convenience. Pays to keep the gear mounted on the rear panels of the belt away from the front, less interaction between the detector and stuff. Easier to bend and dig. The water bladder carries 2 litres of water with ice cubes to keep it cool all day. The weight goes unnoticed and the pick is back far enough to not interfere with the detector. Set the rig up correctly and balance your load, the weigh disappears.. The rig in the pictures is my second attempt using a better battle belt and harness. Easier to thread the leather in and out between molle panels to hold the leather pick holder. Because of this rig I tend to wander off further and further, making the GPS and a map even more essential. The GPS to mark the location of the vehicle and to mark interesting locations, the topographic and geological map allows trip planning on the go. All a far cry from the 17 year old swinging the Garrett A2B with nothing but a pick.. All the best, Karelian.

It seems these days almost every new detector released has some kind of bug that gets discovered. And of course people get upset over it. How do you avoid this? Well you could blame the manufacturers for missing stuff. That may make you feel good, but it won't fix the problem. People also talk about hype a lot these days, and it just sort of flies over my head. Everyone seems desperate for as much information as they can possibly get about detectors early on, but then all that information gets labeled as hype. Unless you live under a rock I would expect you are a member of our consumer society and see advertising every day, so please get over the whole hype thing. It is just information good or bad for you to sort out, and more is better as far as I am concerned, not less. Nobody has to be first kid on their block to buy a brand new model of metal detector, and sorry, but I do not sympathize with people like me that choose to be a guinea pig by doing so. People with any concerns at all should wait a minimum of 6 months after release for the inevitable bugs to be found and fixed. Take your time, read the field reports from actual users, wait for a consensus to develop. Or be the first kid on your block. But be realistic and accept the inherent extra risk in doing so. Whether you like it or not the consumer is the last 100 feet of the production line and the first users find out what got missed, overlooked, or was just wrong. A handful of testers will never replace 5000 end users in their ability to use machines under varied and unanticipated conditions. I think it is really nice people think it should be otherwise but that is just the facts as they exist. Anyone with a bit of concern about any brand new detector model should simply not buy one immediately after release. Six months is generally good enough, a year may be better. As detectors get more like programs running in a processor, one of the biggest problems with new models has not been hardware bugs as much as missed software bugs. This has become so common now as to seem almost inevitable. Luckily some new machines now are shipping with the ability to download fixes for these bugs over the internet. Machines with this capability do provide at least a basic level of assurance that early production bugs can be fixed easily and for free. That in turn makes it a less risky proposition being an early adopter in those cases at least. You should never put all your trust in one person when it comes to reviews. It is like movie reviews, one movie can get two opposite reviews from two different people. A wise person looks at the big numbers from thousands of reviewers to make decisions. Or finds a reviewer who over time appears to have the same tastes in movies and trusts them a bit more. Just to sum up though so we are clear on this - if you buy a metal detector from any manufacturer as soon as it is released you are in my opinion accepting an inherent risk in doing so. It is a proven historical fact that nearly every new model released by anyone these days has some sort of issues to sort out. It is rather pointless to dwell on how unfair or wrong that is, just accept it is so. And if that is a big concern for you - wait it out. That is my absolute best advice for you. Me, I will continue being first kid on my block with new toys. I enjoy it!

New to the game. I went along with a buddy the other day and had the time of my life. Any advice for the new guy?

Hey guys. New here from Metro Atlanta & wondering what other Ga. hunters are swinging out there? We have TERRIBLE dirt here and although I've been swinging a Whites for 40 years, I'm thinking about an F75 LTD or an Impact. I just don't know how well these 'tectors punch through highly mineralized ground. ANY suggestions would be much appreciated and I'd love to know what others in my neck of the woods are using. By the way, target separation is equally important to depth for the trashy sites I hunt. Thanks!!

Found this large piece on my property in east-central Ohio. It looks much like petrified wood but not quite as slick as many specimens I have seen. It's also not very common to find in my part of Ohio (Licking County). Is there any way to test to see if it is indeed silicified or petrified wood?

I was hunting in my backyard again and had a good sounding tone with a TID of 32 on the display so I started to dig. I got down to about 4 inches deep and my carrot was sounding a close target as I dug. Carefully sifting through the soil I noticed what looked like the outline of a dime. All that it was, was just an impression of one. Once again I searched the hole again with my carrot and the target was no longer there. I tried the 800 again and found nothing within 3 feet in all directions of the hole, checked to see if anything stuck to the scoop, on my shoes, on my clothes and found nothing. How can a good sounding target with 2 detectors get lost or disappear like that.

If you know where i can get free metal detecting magazines put the link or website name here I greatly appreciate it Thanks

Coming from Tesoros I have picked up a NOX 600. I am use to setting threshold to a barely audible hum. Then setting discrimination. The quieter the threshold hum, the better discrimination works. Or so it seems. So what exactly then does setting threshold do on the NOX? According to the manual; it is used to notch out an item, like a nickel or penny. Can someone please explain the differences. And also explain that if I set the threshold on the NOX to a barely noticed hum what are the consequences? Thanks Terry

I have been a primary whites user since 1972 I have owned the V3i since its release and love it. I have been looking at the equinox 800 and the anfibio multi. I was wondering if anyone had compared these two detectors the V3i. Other multi frequency thoughts? I have the Minelab Excalibur II 800 for salt water and diving. My only wish for the Anfibio multi would be to allow all three or select 2 (not available on the V3i) The Graphics and information from the V3i are still unmatched

Around here in the Klamaths bedrock is at lest 2 feel down and often much deeper. Digging through several feet of boulders and cobbles is serious hard work. Then there is sand sliding in from the sides making progress very slow. To beat that, I need to set the sides of the hole far apart or I get a hole with a hand-sized bottom continually filled with sand from the sides. That is a lot of work. Historically the creek was a huge gold producer. I see little or no gold in the upper material. Have I just not found the right spot, or is sluicing here hopeless? Should I spend more time prospecting for productive material near the surface, or give it up?

I’m sure Bob has had a lot to deal with but I’d hope we’d heard from him bye now. If anyone on here can fill in the void of not knowing . Please reply! Chuck

I apologize to all my weak English A few days ago I was on a journey to look for a gpz 700 golden device when I came across a large quartz rock I passed the device on the rock and issued the device indicating a clear target and the device was as follows General Allergy 9 I switched the settings to make sure the target was metal and not an imaginary target Difficult Allergy 2 . It also gave me a clear target signal. I broke the rock into parts and it took me a great effort. I reached the desired part and the crystal was in the heart of the rock Suddenly after I took out the desired part, I broke the piece in half and found that this material resembles mud and strange when I passed the device on the piece after I broke it the target signal disappeared and the device did not make any sound I tried to change the settings but to no avail the device kept silent A question. Do any of you know these crystalline materials And what is your interpretation of what happened Thanks to all

White’s you have maybe a month to three months to come out with a new detector line , That’s if you want to keep up with the Jones better known as Minelab and Makro . Hope to see the lineup real soon. I know you don’t spend money on flashy videos and beautiful girls and that’s okay with me. What I want to see is American made on the housing somewhere and White’s number one detector company again. You make it I’ll buy it! ( I’ve been doing it since 1966 ) Chuck Anders

I had a couple lead test targets for calibrating in the field but lost them on my last Western expedition. This is the main reason I don't use gold test targets! I'm ready to make a new set. I'd like to hear your advice on what size and shape of lead I should be using, for both LF and PI detectors.

I just received a new to me SDC2300 and wanted to verify it using the Minelab security check on their website. I did not receive the viewer that was originally included with the detector so what worked for me was a coolant leak detector flashlight ( black light or UV light) It works well enough for me to read the hidden code and I was able to verify my machine.

Hello, I am brand new to metal detecting. My girlfriend lost one of her grandmothers 1/4 ct diamond earrings, it is set in white gold. She inherited them from her grandmother after she passed so they are very important to her. We think the missing earring is either in the yard or in a parking lot with a lot of loose gravel making it impossible to spot amongst all the debris. To try to find the earring I just bought a new Minelab Equinox 800. I used the other earring she still has to test the detector. I kept passing the earring by the coil but it doesn't seem to pick up anything, likewise i also tried the earring on the ground in a plastic sandwich bag and got nothing. I did find other things in the yard tonight like some 1" round metal cap thing with the #2 stamped in it (no idea what it is but it registered between 21 - 24 on the detector) and some dark brown reddish rock that glistens a little in the light so it seems to be working. I am not sure if I do not have the settings right or if it is the wrong coil or wrong metal detector for what I am trying to do. Any suggestions or help is greatly appreciated, thank you in advance.

This will be where I will post information. I will try and answer any questions I can about detector. Other folks who have experience with detector and wish to join in, by all means do so. Should have detector today sometime. Thought I would get this thread started to save time later. I will only be using Tarsacci on turf, not salt water/sand application. I may do some testing on freshwater beach due to lower minerals present. For refererence - Quick start guide https://drive.google.com/file/d/12ecPA1jFF7JOGZLYYywMxZeeyW5qqkMd/view User Manual https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jYhFnstUqLuo5eV28aEZsj9wfeY2TRt-/view Tarsacci MDT 8000 Data & Reviews

PUT tips about metal detecting here

So this has been a yard orndimat for many years and I'm sick of not really knowing what it is. How can one find out what something is and what's its value. Its none magnetic and very heavy for its size.

I found this rusty looking rock in WI recently. It is heavy and is magnetic. It looks like it may have some small flecks of metal in it. I wanted to make a small window in it with a dremel or other drill to see. Wondering if this could be an iron stone meterorite or if it is some kind of geode? I'd welcome any advice. Thanks much! K